I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 328

Because I’m immune to mental status effects thanks to the [Unyielding Commander] effect, the succubus legion can’t use their combat abilities against me at all.

So, last time, the succubus legion charmed the troll legion to fight for them instead.

It seems they’ve put their heads together this time as well, equipping gear that converts their magic power into physical strength.

They keep finding ways to fight. I commend their constant effort.

“But that doesn’t necessarily mean you can beat us with physical strength.”

Whoosh-

The sight of the demon legion collapsed in front of the fortress was revealed along with the desolate wind.

The demons were annihilated.

This time, I beat them to a pulp, leaving them completely mangled. I can confidently say, these guys are beyond recovery now.

《Why…?》

Salome, who was pitifully collapsed in the middle, murmured in a mournful voice.

《I just want to get close to you, Ash… Why do you reject me so much?》

“If your way of getting close involves seduction, kidnapping, confinement, and brainwashing, there’s no reason for me to accept, is there?”

I growled fiercely.

“And before that, I’m human, and you’re a monster. Forget about getting close, we’re beings that are supposed to fight and kill each other from birth, you know?”

《Let’s break those prejudices and have cross-species cultural exchange! Who knows? Maybe we’ll understand each other?》

“Cultural exchange? What kind of culture?”

《Well… mutual understanding through the exchange of romance culture, or something…?》

When I raised my staff with a frustrated look, Salome hurriedly swept back her pink hair.

《Hey! Honestly, I’m pretty good, right?! It’s not that I’m bragging, no, I am bragging! There hasn’t been a man who hasn’t fallen for my seduction except for you!》

“……”

《And this time, I put a lot of effort into dressing up! I surveyed what kind of outfits human men like in their dreams and chose the most preferred one!》

Indeed, it’s a very revealing outfit, rare in this fantasy world. Is it like a swimsuit?

Salome swayed and did a stiff dance while chanting spells like, ‘Be charmed~ Be charmed by me~’.

I clicked my tongue in disbelief. Those monsters never know shame…! Ugh!

Then, Evangeline, who was watching from behind, whistled.

“Wow, honestly, if I were a man, I would have given in out of courtesy.”

“It’s a good thing you’re a woman.”

While we’re on the topic, I checked the reactions of the other party members.

Damien covered his eyes with both hands, and Lucas turned his tin helmet 180 degrees to cover his eyes. Oh, boys…

“Hmmmm.”

Junior was examining Salome with an unusually serious face. What’s wrong?

“No, it’s just that it might be possible…”

“Possible? What’s possible, you punk?!”

“Ah, no! Not in that way!”

Junior, his face flushed red, frantically waved his hands.

“If mental status effects are nullified now, it might be ‘possible’ to capture that succubus and figure out the principle of her charm magic!”

“Ah, that’s what you meant.”

Anyway, the opponent is a demon. Seduction is their specialty. Let’s all be careful about making statements that could be misunderstood.

I sighed deeply, crossed my arms, and opened my mouth.

“Hey, Salome. Let’s say there’s a frog crawling around naked in front of you. Can you look at it and think it’s sexy?”

《Uh…? Frogs don’t wear clothes anyway?》

“Right? It’s like that.”

Salome just tilted her head, not understanding.

I yelled and pointed at Salome.

“To me, you and a frog are the same-!”

Try to seduce me naked all you want! You monster! Do you think I’ll fall for it!

Then, tears welled up in Salome’s big eyes.

《Even so, comparing me to a frog is too much!》

A frog is a good comparison, you jerk. At least frogs have a cute side. They also play a beneficial role by eating pests like flies.

I extended my staff, creating a magic blade, and spoke coldly.

“Listen, Salome. I’ll give you one last mercy before I kill you. Even if you weren’t a frog, even if you were in human form, I would never be seduced by you.”

《Wh-what? Why? How can you be so sure!》

“Well, because I’ve been deceived so much by humans who only look ‘normal’ on the outside. I’ve become hardened enough not to fall for it anymore.”

Back on Earth, my job was an internet broadcaster, a game streamer.

What does this mean?

It means I spent my entire broadcast tangled up with malicious viewers, net-kamas [internet slang for a person who pretends to be a woman online], and gender-ambiguous perverts.

A viewer who sent sweet voice donations using a voice changer for half a year turned out to be a man.

A cute female character guild member who called me ‘oppa’ [Korean term for older brother used by females] and got close to me in chat since the game’s open beta also turned out to be a man.

The VTuber who dressed up in a pretty avatar, did a collab stream with me for a new game, and even did a fake marriage content also turned out to be a man!

And conversely!

A big spender viewer who claimed to be a successful businessman and donated a large sum of money turned out to be a middle school girl using her parents’ credit card! (I refunded her)

The raid leader who commanded the attack team with a rough voice and plenty of swear words, providing ample content for the broadcast, also turned out to be a woman using a voice changer!

The guy who I made a chat manager because he said he was my junior in the military, gained recognition from it, and became successful as an independent streamer. When I met him for a meal, he turned out to be a woman! It turned out to be my junior’s younger sister who had been using her brother’s name all along! She was my sasaeng fan [an obsessive fan]!

They’re all scammers! They’re all scammers!

During the few years of internet broadcasting, I met and was tricked by so many human groups with completely different outsides and insides, and I became hardened.

In other words, no matter how beautiful the skin you wear, as long as I know that your essence is a monster, there’s no way I’ll be seduced.

“What’s the point of you seducing me with a beautiful appearance and a sweet voice? There’s no real heart in it. There’s no reason for my real heart to be moved.”

What’s the point of being pretty on the outside! Your true identity is a monster!

Clank! Clank!

The barrels of the automatic defense turrets all aimed at Salome. This time, I’ll turn you into a puddle of blood, monster!

Salome, who was staring blankly at me,

《…Ah. I understand now.》

Suddenly smiled brightly, then put her hands together in front of her chest.

《The things I’ve easily seduced with charm magic all this time weren’t real feelings. That’s why no matter how much I gathered, my inside was so empty.》

“…?”

《This thing that I can’t get no matter how much I want, and that’s why it’s more desperate… that was a real feeling.》

What the hell are you talking about?

Thinking it was her last words before death, I activated the automatic defense turrets.

“Fire-!”

Thudududung!

Light beams flashed from the muzzles, followed by dozens of magic bullets fired at the succubus queen.

《Ash.》

In front of the pouring magic bullets, Salome smiled brightly.

《Just you wait. No matter how much you push me away, I won’t give up on you. Because…!》

Kwaaang-!

The magic bullets swept through the area, and thick smoke rose.

After a while, when the smoke cleared, the place where Salome had been was empty.

Lucas, who had turned his tin helmet 540 degrees and fixed it, asked in confusion.

“Did we… get her?”

“No. Like last time, she seems to have used the demon legion’s exclusive escape skill, [Reality Escape].”

It’s the best escape skill in this game. She escaped this way last time too.

But it’s not like Salome escaped unscathed. [Reality Escape] has a huge consumption cost as much as its powerful performance.

Monster legions have something called ‘legion resources’. It’s the production resource given to each legion, managed by the legion leader.

These resources can be used to replenish or upgrade lost legion soldiers.

The [Reality Escape] that Salome used is a high-cost skill that devours these legion resources.

Her subordinate demons have been dying in droves every time she met me, and she’s used the escape skill that devours legion resources twice, so she shouldn’t have much resources left.

With no subordinates and no resources left, it’s safe to say that the demon legion is practically unable to recover.

“Even though we had three kill chances, how did they all escape, sigh…”

I don’t know if I should say that succubus queen has good survival skills.

I held my aching forehead with my hand.

‘Well, let’s think positively.’

I gained quite a lot from this free exploration.

I made the demon legion unable to recover.

I captured the elite monster, Hawkbear Assassin.

And I killed the legion leader of the harpy legion that was going to invade Crossroad in advance.

In one expedition, I inflicted fatal damage on three monster legions. It can be said to be a very excellent achievement.

And, most importantly.

[Occupation Battle Victory!]

This is important!

A fanfare announcing the victory of the occupation battle sounded, and a system message appeared, and at the same time, the gray fortress walls melted away as if they were dissolving.

[Area 1: The Dried-up Drainage Ditch has been occupied by Ash(EX)!]

– The area is liberated from the nightmare.

– The ‘Princess’s Soul Fragment’ used in the area is recovered.

Is it just my imagination?

The gloomy darkness that covered the dungeon seems to have faded a bit. I also feel like the air has become warmer…

I looked around and frowned at the system message.

‘What’s this again?’

The princess’s soul fragment is being recovered?

What the hell does that mean? What is it…?

“Huh?”

That’s when it happened.

Sway.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, the world in front of me spun around.

Oh, I think I had these symptoms when I overworked a few days ago…

I staggered and fell forward weakly.

“Senior?!”

Evangeline quickly caught me, and the other party members rushed to me in surprise.

Junior, who ran to me, looked into my eyes and checked my condition, then quickly rummaged through his pockets.

“Oh no, it’s a mana depletion symptom!”

“Mana depletion? What’s that?”

“It’s a symptom that appears when you use more mana than your limit! I need a mana potion right now…!”

As I felt the tongue-scraping taste of the mana potion being poured into my mouth, I slowly thought.

Ah.

That’s why.

[Imperial Territory Declaration] is an excessively high-performance skill that summons a fortress made of mana, but I thought it was too easy to use…

It’s not that easy of a game…

Soon, my vision went black.

I lost consciousness.

***

Ash fainted due to shock from mana depletion.

Mana-related injuries were a field that the priest Damien could not heal. Junior was the expert in this area.

Junior quickly poured the mana potion he had into Ash’s mouth, helping the mana flow in Ash’s body with his own mana.

‘I knew something was wrong!’

Mana materialization is a technique with extreme waste.

Even Dusk Bringer, the owner of the dragon blood, sweats profusely every time he draws a greatsword made of mana.

It wasn’t just a greatsword-sized object, but a fortress, even if it was a small base.

It was far from enough even if all the mana in Ash’s body was squeezed out. From the beginning, summoning and maintaining it was an impossible task.

‘It’s not ordinary magic. There’s a secret hidden in it.’

But that secret wasn’t important right now.

Ash had pulled mana on credit, and the runaway mana core was boiling fiercely, demanding payment.

At this rate, the mana core would burn out completely. Like Jupiter, who suffered from mana runaway…

‘The mana potions I have now are not enough! How can I calm it down?!’

Junior poured his own mana in as a temporary measure and racked his brain. But he couldn’t see a clear solution.

‘Should I teleport a gate to get mana potions? But how many mana potions would there be in the lord’s mansion… and more importantly, it would be too late by the time I get back…!’

Ash’s mana core greedily devoured the mana being poured into it. Junior sensed that his own mana would soon run out.

Then, Lucas, who had rushed over, rolled up his sleeve.

“Please extract my life force and give it to our lord!”

“What? What are you saying?!”

“Doesn’t our lord need a mana transfusion? Then, at least this way…!”

“Don’t talk nonsense! If you do that, you might die, Lucas!”

Transferring mana to another person required extremely precise mana core operation, so it was a method that only magic classes could use.

So, the knight Lucas was going to directly transfer his life force to Ash. But Junior refused outright.

With this method, Ash might be able to replenish her mana, but Lucas would most likely die or become a cripple.

“It’s better than our lord dying! Hurry!”

But Lucas did not back down and took another step forward, shouting.

Behind him, Evangeline and Damien were also rolling up their sleeves with determined expressions.

All the party members were ready to die for Ash.

Junior looked back at everyone with a bewildered expression, then finally made up his mind and nodded.

That’s when it happened.

“I appreciate your loyalty, but there’s no need for that. Everyone, step aside.”

A blunt female voice echoed.

“?!”

Everyone turned around in surprise, and a white-haired woman wearing a familiar tattered robe was standing there.

The watcher and guardian of this Lake Kingdom dungeon.

It was Nameless.

“Since Ash found my fragment…”

In her hand, she held a sparkling white puzzle piece.

Nameless looked at the piece and smiled faintly.

“Shouldn’t I return the favor?”